Ejector for ashes



(No Model.) 2 SheetsSheet 1. F. H. HEATH.

. EJECTOR FOR ASHES, &c.

Patented Dec. 28,1897.

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(No Model.) 2 SheetsSheet 2.

P. H. HEATH.

EJEGTOR FOR ASHES, 8w.

No. 596,065. Patented Deo.28,189'7.

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UNITED STATES FREDERICK H. HEATH, OF TACOMA, WASHINGTON.

EJECTOR FOR ASHES, 80C.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 596,065, dated December 28, 1897.

Application filed February 9, 1897. Serial No. 622,693. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FREDERICK H. HEATH, a citizen of the United States, residing at Tacoma, in the county of Pierce and State of Washington, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Ejectors for Ashes and the Like, of which the following is a specification.

My inventionrelates to a new and useful improvement in ejectors for ashes and the like,and is especially adapted for use in steamships for the ejection of ashes and cinders from the interior of the vessel to the exterior thereof.

It is well known that the present method of removing ashes from steamships is expensive, very laborious, consumes a great deal of time, and when the sea is running high is exceedingly dangerous. By the method now followed the ashes are shoveled into buckets and drawn up to the deck by a small engine and then thrown overboard; and the object of my invention is to overcome these difliculties and provide a simple and efficient apparatus whereby the ashes, with or without clinkers, may be shoveled directly into a hopper and ejected either above or below the water-line of the vessel without further care upon the part of the operator.

With these ends in view this invention consists in the details of construction and combination of elements hereinafter set forth, and then specifically designated by the'claims.

In order that those skilled in the art to which this invention appertains may understand how to make and use the same, the construction and operation will now be described in detail, referring to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which Figure l is a section of my improvement, illustrating its location within a vessel; Fig. 2, a plan view of the hopper, and Fig. 3 a horizontal section of a centrifugal pump for bringing about the ejection of the ashes.

In carrying out my invention as here embodied I locate a reservoir A beneath the floor B of the boiler-room of a vessel, and this reservoir is of such interior shape as to prevent water contained therein from swashing out through the top thereof when the vessel is rolling by reason of the action of the sea. Se-

cured upon the reservoir is a hopper C, which projects above the floor-surface sufficiently to avoid tools or other articles placed upon the floor from falling therein, and to the bottom of the reservoir is secured the casing D of a centrifugal pump. A shaft E passes through the center of the hopper and is journaled in the bearings F and has secured thereon the pump-blades G, which latter are so formed as to provide a flange H, which fits within an annular groove I, formed concen trio with the opening leading from the reservoir to the pump-casing, so that material fed from the reservoir to the pump will pass within the pockets of said blades before gaining access to the casing and be thrust from said pockets by centrifugal action with sufficient force to drive it through the outlet-pipe J. In practice this outlet-pipe J may lead through the side of the vessel below the water-line, but I prefer that its end project above the water-line, since better results are had by so doing, and a valve to prevent backflow in said pipe will not be essential if the pipe is thus arranged. The lower portion of the hopper is corrugated or has formed thereon the teeth K, and an eccentric crusher L is secured upon the shaft E in such manner that the revolving of said shaft will tend to crush clinkers, cinders, or other hard substances which are placed within the hopper and are of a size too large to be easily ejected from the reservoir by the pump.

An inlet-pipe M, of somewhat larger capacity than the outlet-pipe, leads to the reservoir, and the passage therethrough is controlled by the gate-valve N, under the control of the hand-wheel 0, arranged above the floor-surface, and to provide against accident a second valve similar to this one may be also located within the pipe M. This pipe leads to the exterior of the vessel, below the waterline, so that when the valve N is opened the sea-water will flow into the reservoir and when the pump is in action will be ejected therefrom through the pipe J, as will be readily understood. As a means of safety a gatevalve may be located within the pipe J at some point thereof, so as to control the passage of material therethrough, and in operation the shaft is then revolved about three hundred revolutions per minute, and the valve in the outlet-pipe is opened, after which the inlet-valve N is sufficiently opened to regulate the inflow of water to the reservoir to supply the pump and keep the level of the water in said reservoir in close proximity to the bottom of the hopper. The ashes and clinkers are now shoveled into the hopper, the ashes falling immediately into the reservoir, while the clinkers are ground by the crusher, from whence they are discharged with the outflowing water by the pump through the pipe J, from which it will be seen that after the apparatus has been put in operation it is only necessary that the ashes and other refuse from the boilers be shoveled into the hopper to be ejected from the vessel, thus greatly facilitating this operation and relieving the ships crew of the laborious and slow process of hoisting said ashes to the deck and dumping them overboard. An ejector thus located may also be utilized in case of leakage or accumulation of water upon the floorsurface to eject said water from the vessel, thereby avoiding the necessity of putting the pumps which are usually used for this purpose in action.

lVhile I have here shown and described my improvement as especially adapted for use in vessels, it is obvious that it may be utilized for many other purposes-such as the discharge of sand or earth ballast, in excavations of various kinds, in the removal of ashes and dirt from cellars of buildings, tailings from stamp-mills, earth from cotter-dams, sawdust from mills, the.

In applying my improvement to a vessel it is preferable to locate the reservoir permanently beneath the floor and so arrange the hopper and other parts of the apparatus as to permit the removal of said hopper, pump, and sha ft for repairs.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new and useful is- 1. In a device of the character described, a reservoir, a hopper leading thereto, teeth formed on said hopper, a pump located beneath the reservoir and communicating therewith, a shaft journaled within the hopper for actuating the pump, a toothed eccentric crusher carried by the shaft and adapted to operate in conjunction with the teeth on the hopper, an inlet-pipe communicating with the reservoir and an outlet-pipe leading from the pump, as and for the purpose described.

2. An ejector consisting of a reservoir, a hopper leading thereto, teeth formed on the hopper, a shaft journaled in the hopper, a centrifugal pump beneath the reservoir having its blades connected to the shaft and provided with an upwardly-projecting flange fitting in an annular groove of the pump-casing, a toothed eccentric crusher secured on the shaft and adapted to operate in conjunction with the teeth on the hopper, an inletpipe communicating with the reservoir and an outlet-pipe leading from the pump, as and for the purpose described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto affixed my signature in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

FREDERICK ll. HEATH.

Witnesses:

S. S. VVILLIAMsoN, H. K. Moons. 

